In the prior art, various heavy duty vehicles have been proposed for towing purposes. Moreover, various attachments have been proposed for use with these heavy duty vehicles to permit use of a single heavy duty vehicle to perform different towing functions. For example, a heavy duty hauling truck may receive a water tank, spreading apparatus, a towing attachment to haul vehicles or a towing attachment to haul low bed trailers.
One particular device for use with heavy duty hauling vehicles includes a gooseneck for lifting and hauling a trailer. The gooseneck structure is particularly adapted for coupling to low bed trailers clearance between the hitch and a ground surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,765,638 to Kulyk discloses a non-ground engaging lifting apparatus for detachable gooseneck trailers which includes a hydraulic system and does not require interaction with the ground on which a trailer is supported.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,894,764 to Ronk discloses a trailer-tractor assembly with a removable gooseneck which is moveable between a forward and a rearward position. The rearward position facilitates attachment to a low bed trailer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,400,005 to Losh discloses a gooseneck apparatus having a horizontally rearwardly inclined arm for a connection which provides a safe and reliable connecting mechanism whereby coupling between the rear end of a gooseneck and a loaded or unloaded trailer may be easily done by a single operator.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,987 to Whitaker discloses a gooseneck-type lifting apparatus which includes a locking feature. The gooseneck includes a hydraulically locking unit to lock the gooseneck attachment to a low bed trailer.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,040,815 to Evans and 2,676,783 to Rogers also disclose gooseneck structures for lifting heavy duty trailers.
However, disadvantages associated with these types of gooseneck towing attachments include the inability to perform different towing functions other than for a low bed trailer type vehicle. As such, a need has developed to provide a gooseneck towing apparatus having improved flexibility and function to permit a single towing attachment to provide more than a single type of towing capability.
In response to this need, the present invention provides a gooseneck-tow-hitch attachment for heavy duty hauling vehicles which provides a dual function capability for towing. The inventive gooseneck-tow-hitch attachment permits gooseneck type towing for trailers such as low bed trailers and tow-hitch towing of heavy duty hauling vehicles with a single attachment.